WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – If Jeff Brohm wanted to tip his gold hat to what Joe Tiller accomplished at Purdue, the program's first-year coach would attempt 83 passes Saturday against Minnesota.

Yes, Tiller ordered all those attempts in 1998 at Wisconsin. Drew Brees - who is scheduled to attend to watch the Boilermakers and the Golden Gophers - actually threw all of those passes, an NCAA record at the time and later topped in 2013 by Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday, who tossed 89.

But Brohm knows throwing passes on every down – even though he would prefer that method of transportation moving up and down the field – isn’t a wise investment for his current offense. Maybe one day.

We’ll settle for a bubble screen on the first play.

Tiller’s career with the Boilermakers will be on display before and during Saturday’s game. The beloved Tiller – the program’s all-time winningest coach - passed away Sept. 30 in Buffalo, Wyoming, leaving countless stories and memories for Purdue fans to cherish from his 12-year tenure.

The tributes have been pouring in all week. Players from his first team – the 1997 squad that started an unprecedented run of eight straight bowl games that reached 10 overall by the time Tiller retired in 2008 – will be recognized.

That paved the way for a piece of the 2000 Big Ten championship and a spot in the Rose Bowl.

A moment of silence before kickoff, Tiller logos – highlighting his bushy mustache – will be worn by both teams and the Boilermakers will wear helmets that replicate the ones from his tenure. Video tributes and a commemorative game ball presented to Tiller’s son, Michael, make this a must-see day at Ross-Ade Stadium.

But there’s still a game to be played and it’s an important one when looking at the big picture.

What the Boilermakers have accomplished in just four games has opened up the possibility of even bigger opportunities down the road. No one inside the program would dare talk about a bowl game, especially after a few players got ahead of themselves before playing Michigan.

It’s a scenario that can’t be ignored, but one that probably only happens if Purdue wins Saturday. That’s where the focus is, along with honoring Tiller.

“We’ve got to honor him by playing the game he would want us to play, playing to win, overachieving, figuring out ways to score points and make it fun and exciting like he did,” Brohm said. “I think that’s the best way we can honor him as players and coaches is to figure out a way to win this football game."

For Brohm’s current team, they probably weren’t thinking about football when Tiller came to West Lafayette to pump new life into a doormat program. His basketball on grass approach took the Big Ten by storm, even reducing some of the game’s greatest coaches to mortals.

Just like Alabama’s Nick Saban, who owns five national championships. Saban faced Tiller’s three times teams while at Michigan State. He was 0-3.

“Joe Tiller was ahead of his time,” Saban told reporters this week in Tuscaloosa.

In some ways, this year’s version of the Boilermakers are ahead of schedule. Brohm knew what he inherited but has pushed this team to places we didn’t expect through the first month.

If he can make it last for 12 games, what a perfect way to pay tribute to Tiller’s Purdue legacy, one that started 20 years ago this season.